Before using this information ask your doctor if it is right for you.
Session 1 Of The Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program TM
Thank you for taking time to read the first session of The Healthy Marriage Weight
Loss Program TM. This program will teach
you information that when applied
can help you attain and maintain a healthy weight, a healthy marriage and a healthy self for the rest of your life.
The keyword is applied. The biggest
predictor of your success in achieving your goals is whether or not you apply the information you are about to learn. Also, you must apply this information for the long term otherwise your short term gains will be lost. The basic
principles of this program are simple enough to allow you to use these principles for the rest of your life.
Quick fixes can get quick results but seldom are long lasting.
The way to attain and maintain a healthy weight, marriage and self is to develop and maintain habits that help
you achieve your goals. We have developed some simple worksheets to help you establish and maintain these habits.
At first it may seem like too much of a hassle to take five minutes to fill out
the worksheets and one minute each night to update them. When these thoughts enter your mind, ask yourself how
much money you would be willing to spend for a pill that would establish good habits overnight. This pill doesn't
exist, but you can develop good habits in an average of 30 days. Once you have established the habit, you will
no longer need to track it on a daily basis.
What is the Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program TM
The Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program is an educational program. It is not a therapy program. The information
contained in the program can teach you how to attain and maintain a healthy weight, healthy marriage and healthy
self. Your role is to take this information and decide how you are going to apply it to your specific situation.
If you have general questions about the program and what you are learning check the FAQ page first by clicking
here. If your
question is not there, please send us an email to questions@healthymarriage.org and we will add the question
and answer to the FAQ page.
If you have specific questions about your body or your marriage, you can send an email to myquestion@healthymarriage.org. We charge $40
per hour with a $10 minimum charge to respond to your specific situation. Before we respond, we will send you a
quote on how much time it will take us to respond to your question. Once we have received payment we will respond
to your question. If you feel the response you receive is not worth the money you paid, you can receive a full
refund after filling out a short feedback form.
Goals of the Program
Many ask why we combine weight loss, marriage education, and self-improvement into
one program.
Our goal is to help people become healthier and happier. Physical, emotional and marital health are three major
predictors of whether or not someone is healthy and happy. Even if we help someone become healthier in two out
of the three areas the overall net gain will be minimized by the negative effects of the third area that has been
neglected. By combining all three areas into one program we increase the chances of helping people become healthier
and happier.
Foundation of the Program
The foundation of this program is based on the principles found in the:
Three Laws of Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program TM
The 1st Law of the Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program TM states:
All bodies and marriages will become unhealthy unless time and energy are expended
to keep them healthy.
The 2nd Law of the Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program TM states:
When time and energy are expended, most bodies and marriages can return or stay
in a healthy state.
The 3rd Law of the Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program TM states:
Bodies and marriages are never static. They are either progressing towards a healthier
or unhealthier state.
The Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program TM has been designed to help you develop life-long habits that can keep your body and your
marriage progressing towards a healthier state.
Basics about Healthy Weight Loss
The first basic principle is our definition of weight loss. Most people define
weight loss and measure success by the number of overall pounds you lost. Unfortunately, this definition includes
weight loss of muscle tissue and water in the total number of pounds lost. We will discuss later about the health
risks of losing muscle and water.
Our definition of weight loss is:
The number of pounds of unhealthy fat you lost.
Why do we put the word unhealthy in front of fat? Isn't all fat unhealthy? No!
Depending on your age, sex, and activity level, your body needs a certain amount of fat to live. Fat only becomes
unhealthy when your body has too much fat.
The following is a chart that can help you determine is you have too much fat.
Body fat ranges for standard adults are as follows:
| |
Healthy
|
Excess fat
|
Obese
|
| |
Male Female |
Male Female |
Male Female |
| 20-39 years |
8-20% 21-33% |
20-25% 33-39% |
>25% >39% |
| 40-59 years |
11-22% 23-34% |
22-28% 34-40% |
>28% >40% |
| 60 plus years |
13-25% 24-36% |
25-30% 36-42% |
>30% >42% |
based on NIH/WHO guidelines as reported by Gallagher et al. NY Obesity Research Center.
Once you start losing weight how do you know if the pounds you are losing are fat,
muscle or water? Water is the fastest of the three to lose. Any high school wrestler can teach you how to lose
10 pounds or more of water in single day. The easiest way to make sure the weight you are losing is not water is
to drink enough water each day so your urine is a pale yellow to clear color. When you drink this much water your
overall health and energy level will also improve.
What kind of water is best to drink? The answer is: Whatever kind you will drink enough of to keep your urine a
pale yellow to clear color. If you don't like the taste of your tap water, then buy an inexpensive water purifier
or inexpensive purified or spring water. The keyword is inexpensive. The benefits to your body do not increase
with the price of the water you put into it. The only kind of water your body needs to help you lose fat and be
healthy is just plain water.
If you are drinking plenty of water how can you tell if your weight loss is coming from muscle or fat? The best
way is to get a measurement of your body fat.
The least expensive method is body fat calipers. Unfortunately, it can also be
very inaccurate.
Another option is to pay $15-$75 to have your body fat percentage measured at a hospital, university, or fitness
center that has a machine called a bod pod. The bod pod results are very accurate.
An option that is fairly accurate and simple to operate is a body fat scale. You can buy a Tanita body fat scale
from Amazon.com by clicking here. While a body fat scale is not as accurate
as a bod pod test, you can tell fairly accurately if the weight you are losing is fat or muscle.
A body fat scale should cost between $50-$100. To get a consistent reading be sure to follow the instructions.
Don't get too excited or too depressed about your daily measurements. They will fluctuate. Add up your body fat
percentage measurements every 7 days and divide by 7. By comparing this average measurement to your previous average
measurements it can help you know if the weight you are losing is fat or muscle.
If you are losing muscle take a look at the following areas:
1.Are you eating enough calories? Depending on your body size you should be eating at least 1200 calories a day.
By dropping below 1200 calories a day you increase your risk of losing muscle mass.
2.Are you eating enough protein? Count the number of grams of protein in your diet
each day. The number should be equal to or a little bit greater than your body weight multiplied by .40. If you
exercise a lot then multiply by .55. If you are doing resistance training then multiply by .75.
3.Are you using your muscles? Your body will only maintain the amount of muscle
mass you use. You can send a clear message to your body that you still need your muscle mass even though you are
no longer carrying around 20, 30, or 50 pounds of fat.
In session four we will teach you a simple workout program that can maintain or
increase your muscle mass. It only takes 15 minutes a day, requires nothing but the muscles attached to your body,
and can be done anywhere, anytime.
How Your Body Works
It is important to have a basic understanding about how your body works in order
to lose weight in a healthy way.
Our bodies are very much like cars. How much energy a car needs depends on how big and efficient it is. A small
car needs a lot less energy than a big truck. The same is true for our bodies.
If you want to eat more calories without gaining fat you have two options. You can either build a bigger engine
by increasing your muscle mass, or you can drive your body for a longer time in the form of exercise.
The fuel your body uses for energy is called calories. Your body gets its fuel from three main sources. The food
you put into your body, the fat it has stored and the muscle it has created. Ideally you only want the body to
use calories from the first two sources. Several vital organs, including your heart, are made of muscle tissue.
If your body breaks down too much muscle tissue, to meet its energy needs, you achieve the permanent weight loss
solution by dying. And as you just learned the less muscle mass you have the less you can eat without gaining fat.
Keeping or building your muscle mass is key to losing unhealthy fat.
There are two main reasons why your body loses muscle tissue. The first is you are not exercising the muscle enough
to maintain it and the second is you are not eating a balanced diet with sufficient calories and protein to maintain
your muscle mass.
The Healthy Marriage Weight Loss Program (TM) teaches you to decrease your balanced portion sizes to the point
where you are losing two pounds of fat a week and not pounds of muscle. We will also teach you simple exercises
you can do anywhere to maintain or increase the muscle mass you have.
Click here for section 2 of session 1.
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